Pancakes, Pickles, and Wolves

Hail from the Sticks!

We've had a fabulous week and are absolutely loving the weather! Right now, it's chilly enough, the three of us have a fire going in the wood stove. It's so fun to listen to the crackle. :)

Gracelynn has also been loving the week with her uncles. She's had a lot of "firsts", including her first bite of sugar cookie (thanks to G'ma)! She just looked at me as if to say, "This is for me?"

Below is Gracelynn eating her first pancake.

That is obviously a very full, very satisfied smile. :)

Gracelynn also sampled her first pickle - a zesty dill (it actually had quite a kick to it!).
She loved it.

"What is this?"

"Hmmmm! Gimme the whole thing!"

We've had a lot of adventures already. Yesterday afternoon, G'ma watched Gracelynn and I had a chance to go out fishing. I finally caught my first fish! And then another, and another! On the way back, I was in the lowly, deadweight seat in the middle of the three-seater canoe (no one likes it...not sure why?). Anyway, all of the sudden, Dad, Benji, and I noticed that Seth and Heath were looking at us funny and paddling like their pants were on fire. A race! It was on!

We (meaning everyone else paddled while I yelled taunts and cheers) paddled like crazy, almost tipped each other over close to a couple of shorelines, and exchanged a lot of splashes!

Halfway back to shore, Seth and Heath were paddling so hard their canoe was rocking back and forth. I was watching and yelling back to them that they'd better paddle faster because we (haha, WE!) were pulling away. All of the sudden...I watched as their eyes went huge, paddles went flying, and they went overboard! After the first few seconds of disbelief and making sure they were okay, Dad, Benji, and I laughed so hard our heads hurt! They managed to save all the poles, tackle, and gear...but not soon enough to escape me taking a ton of pictures - which I will post as soon as we get the waterproof camera developed!

Although the International Wolf Center didn't top the canoe t(r)ip in laughs, it was really a lot of fun. Gracelynn loved it!

She kept trying to "talk" to the wolves from the other side of the glass - expecting them to respond to her just like Sam.

"Sorry, sweetie. That is NOT Sam!"

They were really incredible to watch. So tall! So big!

Gracelynn amused everyone during one of the informative films. They were comparing the howls of wolves, coyotes, and dogs. During the wolf howl, Gracelynn broke out into her own trying to mimick the video. It was quite cute and hilarious!

After a long day and after being awake over four hours (without being crabby!), we barely got Gracelynn into her carseat and she'd fallen asleep. Very asleep.

We'll hate to leave Minnesota and our cozy little cabin tomorrow, but we are looking forward to being back home. Heath starts school this Wednesday already and it'll be full speed ahead with football, classes, and of course, keeping up with Gracelynn.

Hope this post finds you all well!
with love,

the kelleys